Earth
Earth (also known as Sol III, Earth being the 3rd planet from the sun, or Sol) was a level five planet, and the the Doctor's favourite, the twin planet of Mondas, located in the Sol system in Mutter's Spiral. Most of the Doctor's companions have been natives of this planet. It was the native planet of Humans, Silurians, Sea Devils, as well as other species. Astronomical Data Location Earth was located in Sector 8023 of the Third Quadrant. (DW: Logopolis) It was the third planet in the Sol system, approximately 27,700 light-years from the centre of Mutter's Spiral. It was shifted two light years from this position by the Time Lords and renamed Ravolox circa 2,000,000 CE. (DW: The Mysterious Planet) Moon(s) For most of its history, Earth had one single moon, usually referred to simply as the Moon, a rogue planet which entered the Sol system and was captured in Earth's gravitational field millions of years ago. (DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians) By the time of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire, four other moons had been added to the Terran system. (DW: The Long Game) Geology Earth was rich in many valuable metals and elements. (DWN: Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks) It was one of the few sources of quartz in the galaxy (DW: The Pirate Planet) and was also rich in silicon and carbon. (DW: Four to Doomsday) Geography Earth's surface had changed considerably over the course of its long history, owing to its high seismic activity. When native life first appeared on the planet, for example, what later became the middle of the Atlantic Ocean was a vast, rocky wasteland. (DW: City of Death) What follows is a general description of what came to be known as "Classic Earth". (DW: The End of the World) Through most of its history, two-thirds of the Earth's surface was covered by water. Several large land-masses were in existence. Changes to the topography were relatively frequent, owing to erosion and seismic and volcanic activity. Two particularly cataclysmic events occurred when Atlantis, already ravaged first by the Dæmons and then Kronos, sank beneath the waves circa 2000 BCE (DW: The Underwater Menace, The Dæmons, The Time Monster) and when Krakatoa erupted in 1883, the latter event being witnessed by both the Third and Ninth Doctors. (DW: Inferno, Rose) The actions of Humans, specifically their pollution, also had a major effect on the geography of the world. By the 26th century, the seas of Earth had been polluted, irradiated, set on fire and boiled off into a thick sludge. (NA: Ship of Fools) By the 52nd century, winters never occurred due to global warming. (WC: The Frozen) Over millions of years, continental drift caused the surface of Earth to change radically, creating such features as the Arctic Desert and the Los Angeles Crevasse. After the 57th Segment of Time and the events of the Ark the National Trust installed gravity satellites to hold back the expanding Sun, from a now uninhabited Earth. They also shifted the continents back to their early positions, a planetary style known as "Classic Earth", which took billions of years. It stayed like this until the planet's final destruction in the year 5.5/Apple/26. (DW: The End of the World) Historical :Dozens of alien species and influences have affected life on Earth. Therefore, only the most significant and influential, or, in many cases, the earliest have been noted. Early History Before Life Earth formed over 4.6 billion years ago around a Racnoss spacecraft which carried the last remainders of their ancient race. (DW: The Runaway Bride) At much the same time, the Sentience was also trapped in the forming Earth. (NA: Nightshade) About 3 billion years ago, the consciousness of the Sou(ou)shi settled on Earth and went into dormancy. (MA: Venusian Lullaby) The Creation of Life Native life eventually developed due to the explosion of a Jagaroth spaceship. (DW: City of Death) The Age of Dinosaurs and Earth Reptiles Various species of saurian dominated the planet until circa 65 million BCE, when a freighter from 2526 time-warped to this period and exploded in the upper atmosphere. The resulting clouds of dirt and smoke obscured the sun, lowering the temperature and causing mass extinctions. (DW: Earthshock) An intelligent species of reptiles (whose name is unknown) flourished and then went extinct. (NA: All-Consuming Fire) 100,000 years later, Silurians and Sea Devils (later known collectively as Earth Reptiles) intelligent reptiles with biotechnology were also active. (DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Sea Devils) They domesticated dinosaurs and regarded the small furry humanoid semi-intelligent primates around them as pests. (DWM: The Fall of the Silurians) The reign of the reptiles came to a final end when the rogue planet (later known as Earth's primary satellite, the Moon) entered Earth's orbit. The Earth Reptiles feared it and entered into suspended animation. (DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians) Apes regarded by the reptiles as pests eventually evolved into the species known as Human, given a substantial jolt forward when the Fendahl Core arrived in Africa circa 12 million BCE. (DW: Image of the Fendahl) The Human Age Human civilization evolved quickly, assisted by the Dæmons, the various temporal fragments of Scaroth, and the predatory nature imparted to humans by the Fendahl. This predatory and aggressive nature was evident in the many conflicts which humans fought amongst themselves throughout much of their early history, such as during the siege of Troy, the Dark Ages, or the American Revolutionary War. (DW: The Mark of the Rani) It was also exploited by the War Lords, who kidnapped human soldiers from various conflicts in Earth history for use in their war games. (DW: The War Games) Earth had been visited by aliens many times throughout its history, but the launching of space probes by humans beginning in the late 20th century made such visits more frequent, as Homo sapiens began drawing attention to themselves. These visits also tended to be more openly hostile, and Earth was saved from conquest or outright annihilation often only through the intercession of the Doctor or the secret (prior to the 21st century) organization Torchwood. Earth also had many aliens land upon it, some hostile, some not. The Doctor and his comapnions as well as Torchwood and Sarah Jane and her friends dealt with these threats, helping the friendly aliens and defeating and most of the time killing the hostile ones. Such invasions also led to the formation of UNIT, whose functions in time culminated in the first conquest by Earth of an alien world, Mars, in 2086. (DW: Transit) Despite the sometimes overt nature of alien intervention on Earth, governments and military bodies successfully managed to keep many of these events either secret (DW: The Web of Fear), or active cover-ups were attempted, such as an attempt to dismiss the Battle of Canary Wharf (DW: Doomsday) as a terrorist event caused by the doping of Britain's water supply (TW: Everything Changes). The latter example occurred even after the Sycorax parked a giant spaceship above London (DW: The Christmas Invasion). Several other worldwide crises in the first decade of the 21st century, such as the sun going dim and the moon moving out of its orbit, were also the subject of subsequent cover-ups orchestrated by Sarah Jane Smith and her alien super-computer, Mr. Smith (SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen, The Lost Boy). However, several further events, most notably the forced relocation of Earth to another part of the universe and the subsequent Dalek invasion (DW: The Stolen Earth/''Journey's End'') served to finally convince the populace at large that they were not alone in the universe. (Even so, some humans remained oblivious to some facts, including billionaire Henry van Statten, who several years after the events of Canary Wharf and the Medusa Cascade, while very aware of alien life and technology, seemed unaware of what a Dalek was, even dubbing them Metaltrons (DW: Dalek). Humans had developed methods of faster-than-light-travel in the late 21st century and began colonizing nearby star systems soon after. The Daleks The 22nd century Dalek invasion proved devastating to Earth. First the Daleks released a new kind of plague upon the Earth, the entire regions of Africa and South America were wiped out. New York and many other cities were destroyed. The remaining inhabitants of earth were terrorized by the Dalek forces who enslaved many and turned others into Robomen. The expulsion of the Dalek force from Earth and the victorious Battle of Cassius saw the planet reborn. (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth). The Daleks named it New Skaro when they invaded it. The Human Empire Humans reclaimed their old colonies and in time an Earth Empire emerged, which dominated most of Mutter's Spiral for over 500 years. This empire at times came into conflict with other space powers, particularly the Draconians, and often employed oppressive and disenfranchising policies on numerous alien races, most notably on Delta Magna and Solos. Unrest among these races and instabilities in the Empire's political and economic structure eventually led to the dissolution of the Empire, which in time gave way to the Galactic Federation, headquartered on Io. (NA: Legacy) By 4000, the Federation came under the control of Mavic Chen (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan) and his descendants, who eventually transformed the once democratic organization into a new version of the old Earth Empire. (MA: The Crystal Bucephalus) This would be known as the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire (DW: Planet of the Ood), then the Earth Alliance (BFDE: Invasion of the Daleks). By the year 200,000, Earth was at its height, covered with megacities, five moons and a population of 96 billion. It was the centre of the galactic domain of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire that stretched across a million planets and species. (DW: The Long Game) The Empire had been secretly manipulated and its progress hindered by Dalek survivors of the Last Great Time War. A full-scale invasion of Earth commenced in 200,100, which included a massive bombing campaign which disfigured the continents. The Dalek fleet was destroyed by the Bad Wolf entity. It is not known whether this virtually omnipotent being reversed all the damage of the invasion, such as the disfiguring of the continents. (DW: The Parting of the Ways) Later Events Earth in its later history was abandoned numerous times by its human inhabitants, first when solar flares bombarded the planet, leaving Earth uninhabited for 10,000 years. (DW: The Ark in Space) Although surviving humans who had slept aboard the Nerva Beacon recolonised the planet, it was later occupied by the Charrl, who renamed the world Antýkhon. Humans, referred to as "Hairies," managed to adapt to the depleted atmosphere and soil caused by the Charrls' industrial activities. The Charrl occupation lasted some 3497 years. (NA: Birthright) Some time after, Earth was visited by the Usurians, who relocated the dying human population first to Mars and then Pluto. Generations later, humans had thrown off the yoke of Usurian exploitation, and returned to Earth. (DW: The Sun Makers) About 2,000,000, Earth was relocated two light-years from its proper position in the galaxy by the Time Lords to prevent the escape by aliens from Andromeda who had stolen information from the Matrix on Gallifrey. Most of the human race remaining on Earth were wiped out, and those that survived degenerated to a primitive, tribal culture. The planet came to be known as Ravolox, with Earth being completely forgotten. (DW: The Mysterious Planet) The inhabitants of Ravolox eventually came to know of the true nature and history of their planet, and to rebuild their civilization. At some unknown point in the future, the planet may also for a time be known by the name Tellus and be owned by a mining company. (The Adventures of K9: K9 and the Missing Planet) : Owing to the events described below, it is assumed that at some point Ravolox was returned to its original location and once again came to be known as Earth. The Destruction of Earth In the 57th segment of Time the last Humans left Earth because of the increasing danger that it would fall into the Sun, fleeing to planets such as Refusis II and Frontios. (DW: The Ark/Frontios) The now uninhabited Earth was preserved by the National Trust and over the following billions of years it was restored to a 'classic' Earth until it was finally destroyed by the expanding Sun in the year 5.5/Apple/26. (DW: The End of the World)